Homeland Security has been detaining computers, phones and other data storage devices without warrant. YET ANOTHER 4TH AMENDMENT VIOLATION!

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Washington Post version of the article:
Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border: No Suspicion Required Under DHS Policies
By Ellen Nakashima - Washington Post Staff Writer - Friday, August 1, 2008

This should be pretty astonishing stuff, but sadly in this day it cannot really be called astonishing at all. Weeks after our congress passes a bill that pats telecom companies on the back for spying on us...we really shouldn't be surprised. It seems that our PERSONAL computers (can we even call them that anymore?) are subject to search and seizure from a distance at any given moment, so why should we not expect them to seize the hardware as well, at any point that they can. Customs seems like a perfect moment doesn't?

The writers of our Constitution understood that a person's papers is a part of their being. Our words are a part of who we are, and who and how we share them is part of a basic FREEDOM of humanity, which should be a protected LIBERTY in any land where the objective is freedom.

Let's look back to the foundation. Is it not unreasonable to think that the following statement, given the passage of time and the increase in technology, in fact clearly applies to computer files, computer "papers"?

Amendment IV of the United States Constitution:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

One more source, Cnet's version of the article:
Homeland Security: We can seize laptops for an indefinite period
By Declan McCullagh - Friday, August 1, 2008